In response to my inquiry regarding Michael and Thomas J. Sweet, Cindy Sweet offered a few suggestions. I thought then that I could add a bit more knowledge to see if their identity can be better established. I've interspersed my comments with Cindy's suggestions below. Paul Sweet Hudsonville, MI ~~~~~~~~~~~ On Fri, 10 Dec 2004 20:52:17 -0600 "Cyndi Sweet" <crsweet@cfu.net> writes: Hi Paul, The Michael & Cynthia Sweet family is a family I've been trying to tie into other St. Lawrence Co. Sweets for several years. I can't answer your question about their parentage or verify a relationship between Michael and Thomas, but will throw out a few thoughts in case it will help. There is another Sweet family who attends the church I attended in my youth. However, we have never talked much about how we could be related. I saw the gentleman a few weeks back and asked if he could provide me with any information about his family. He began by saying he was not even sure if he was a Sweet because his great-grandfather had been adopted. I pressed for more information to see if I could answer his riddle and learned that his great-grandfather was Lyman R. Sweet of Newaygo, Michigan. With that I began my search and have provided him with quite a bit of information from census and county records. However, it seems to stop with Michael. Cynthia filed a pension claim in June 1867 after her son Zenas Sweet's death. Have you ordered a copy of that pension file? I did learn of the pension file and have recommended to my friend that he get the file asap. However, I am not sure how interested he is in tracing his roots -- is it a passing interest or if he is willing to invest some time and $$ into the search. If you're trying to track down descendants of the Michael/Cynthia family, I believe I've traced the two youngest children's lines down to 1900-1920 (Mandana and Lyman) through census records. I can send you that information if it will be helpful. While I've been able to delve through the census records for most of Michael and Cynthia's children, I am most interested in finding the next step in the pedigree beyond Michael. Again, I've recommended to my friend that he participate in the DNA study, but I do not know if he is interested. I believe that his great-grandfather Lyman was indeed a Sweet, but when he was orphaned after Cynthia's death in 1867 he and several of his siblings ended up being farmed out to friends and relatives. With the exception of Alexander, one of Michael and Cynthia's older sons, I could not find the children anywhere in the 1870 census. He was still in Ottawa, MI at that time, working as a laborer on another family's farm. Did you notice that in 1880 there are two Sweets living side by side in Farmer Twp., Defiance Co., OH (p. 219 D). Gilbert Sweet, 32, indicates his father was b. NY, mb NY; Henry Sweet, 45, indicates his father was b. VT, mb NY. That is one of the interesting things I learned in my brief study. Gilbert Sweet was the son of Michael and Cynthia Sweet, while Henry Sweet was the son of Thomas J. Sweet. Defiance, OH records indicate that both Gilbert and Lyman, the sons of Michael and Cynthia, married there. In fact, they married sisters -- Gilbert married Ada Carlisle in 1871, Lyman married Polly Carlisle in 1877 -- who were both the daughters of Ira D. Carlisle. If you take a look at the 1870 census, you will see that Ira Carlisle and his family (including Ada and Polly) were living next door to Thomas J. Sweet. In the 1880 census, Lyman was in Polkton, Ottawa, MI. By the time of the 1884 MI State Census, Gilbert, Alexander, Lyman, and Mandana were all listed in Polkton twp. By 1900, the family began to spread out as Lyman and Gilbert had both moved -- Lyman to Newaygo Cty, not too far to the north, and then Gilbert to Cheboygan, MI, where it appears they both remained. Michael's children never seem to agree as to the birthplace of their father. For example, in the 1880 census back in Ottawa Cty, both Alexander Sweet and Mandana (Sweet) Archibald indicate that their father was born in Vermont. As for Michael himself, it says VT in the 1850 census and NY in the 1860 census. From "Commemorative Biographical Record of Northwestern Ohio", p. 192-196, paraphrasing, Fanny Sweet, daughter of Thomas J. Sweet and Ormanda Bowker Sweet. Fanny was born 24 June 1835 St. Lawrence Co., NY. She m1 Emanual ford who died in Farmer Twp., Defiance Co., OH in 1872 - you'll find them in the census there easily. They had four children. Fanny m2 William Price and they are found in the same location in 1880 - along with Elvira B.Crocker, 44, step sister-in-law, b. NY, and Fanny's children Carrie and Ida Wolford. I did not have this information. However, I was able to glean some information from the Defiance, OH marriage records, including Fanny Sweet's marriage to E. Woolford 26 Nov 1857. I never looked for a second marriage. Another marriage record from Defiance I thought was interesting was that of Elizabeth Sweet to Matthew Preston 4 Nov 1869. Michael and Cynthia had a daughter Elizabeth, born 1844 in NY. This could be her, but I am not sure. I will have to go back to the census records and see if I can find the Prestons. There is another Sweet family in Potsdam that may or may not tie in. That is the family of N. Sweet and his wife Damarias. "N" died after 1847 and by 1850; his wife Damaris was b. ca. 1803 Connecticut and d. after 14 November 1857 when she made her will. They had three children that I know of, Julia Maria who m. before 14 November 1857 Asahel E. Fuller; Emily D.; and Jane Elizabeth Sweet. Upon her mother's death, Charles C. Eastman was appointed Jane Elizabeth's guardian. I've not yet been able to positively link Michael Sweet and/or Thomas Sweet to any of the other Sweets living in St. Lawrence, NY. However, from looking through the archives of the SWEET-L mailing list, it appears that others have raised the question before. One thought is that in Michael Sweet's household in the 1840 census, there was a female 60-70 yrs old. This could have been Michael's mother but that is only speculation. Well, I am not sure how much this helps or if it muddies the water. However, the more information that gets out can only help us tie up a lot of loose ends. The hunt is on!!